DougCarden Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 I have been running one of my 1050s with the Ponsess-Warren motor drive and a Bulletfeeder for a couple of weeks now. I have thousands of rounds of awesome ammo sitting on the floor...all waiting to be case gauged and primer checked.... Gotta take the good with the bad, right????LOL I ordered the bulletfeeder and powerunit from Powercustomusa.com. Sean took good care of me from start to finish. Check his site out! I got the motor drive first, and got it set up. Pretty straight forward. Read the instructions. I have RL1050s, and had to tweak the adjustments on the arm a little bit versus the Super1050. They cover this well in the instructions. The tech support was great as well. One important thing I want to go over with doing this is proper lubing and maintenance on the mainshaft. I HIGHLY recommend before putting on the motor drive you strip down the machine and clean it, and lube the lube points with good grease like the Manual says, not oil. I was using oil and started getting a little hitch. I stopped and found that the top and bottom of the shaft was oiled up, but not the middle. Some grease here and there and I am back in business and the sucker is so smooth I cannot believe it. I plan to adhere to the 10K round maintenance plan on the unit as well. I unfortunately make the prediction that Dillon will sell more Mainshafts for the RLs and Supers in the next 2yrs than they could imagine. The motor doesn't care, and since you are not pulling on the handle and cannot "feel" what is going on I can see some shafts getting galled up right quick. The bulletfeeder works, period. My hat is off to the Man! Jacketed bullets run through like water. I am still experimenting with lead bullets. The lube is the problem, as they get stuck going from the casefeed plate and then into the drop body. I had better luck just handfeeding the lead bullets with the motordrive. I am going to try some Mica and some Talc to see how that goes, but I am afraid it will just make a mess....LOL. This set up will allow me to load the amount of ammo I need in less time, without the tendonitis in my gun hand arm. I can stand or sit there and use the calipers to check the OAL and drop a few in the case gauge and check primer depth as well. I check the powder drop every 100 rounds and make sure the dies are tight as well. Something could loosen up and you could make a lot of crappy ammo in a hurry if you dont pay attention. It would be a good idea to go over the powder measure and tighten up the nuts and make sure it is 100% as well. Another area that will make your life easier is to sort your brass very well, and to make sure all the media is gone. You also need to use case lube for smooth functioning. The smoother you can make the sizing the easier the machine works and everything is more consistent. Oh yeah, be damn careful when using the motor drive and don't get distracted. It will bite you, and I am sure we will read accounts of that on this forum in the future. I will do everything I can do to make sure it is not me typing that account with one hand..... I hope this is helpful. This set up is pretty damn cool, and if you can afford it you won't be disappointed if you are somewhat mechanical. See ya, DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Nice review there Doug. Sean is a great guy for sure. His website has lots of really good deals. I also can't say enough good things for the Mr. Bullet-feeder. I've had mine now for 2 years and haven't had a major problem with it so far. Of course all I EVER load are FMJs. I've got a caliber conversion for both .40 and 9mm. Can't see me ever needing anything else for my Dillon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Doug wrote: I am still experimenting with lead bullets. The lube is the problem, as they get stuck going from the casefeed plate and then into the drop body. Were these just your normal every day cast boolits with the single or possibly double lube groove(s)? I am wondering how well a tumble lubed boolit (like from a Lee 6 banger mould) would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 (edited) They are standard single groove cast bullets. I don't think it will matter with the tumble lube or not. These bullets are really clean and uniform. Believe me, I can live with handfeeding them..... DougC Edited March 7, 2010 by DougCarden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Oh, I'm just-a-wonderin' what is causing the cast lead boolits to hang up in the bullet feeder/collator, that's all. It is for future reference...just in case I do spring for the bullet feeder for my Star lube-sizer...if I want to take the extra step(s)....well, probably more like a major undertaking, making my own bullet/boolit collator from scratch for it. I could probably make my own bullet feeder for it too, given all the videos and pics of it that I have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireant Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Doug are you getting a lot of varriance in your OAL? Are you having issues with high primers? I really didn't want to have to use case lube, but I might have to try it to smooth things out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share Posted March 8, 2010 Fireant, I am not gettting any different OAL from before the additions. With the same headstamp brass I am using (3) different ones in this batch I am getting the same OAL in the same makes of brass. I check them with the dial caliper when they are popping out. No problem with that. I set up the primer depth and check it all the time when I look at the ammo and case gauge/mike them. I haven't had any change yet, but it is something I am always looking for. If you are, I would make sure the bolt holding the lever underneath the shellplate is tight, and make sure the shellplate is snugged down tight, but not too tight that it won't snap back to the next indent on the rotation. Good luck, DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireant Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Thanks, I was having some issues before, but I think it was die related. I have since switched dies and the ammo looks good, I just get an occasional high primer. Do you tumble your ammo after loading since you use case lube? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidnal Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Hi Doug: I got one of the P-W autodrives for my RL1050 from Sean about 2 weeks ago too. You're right, PowerCustomUSA is great to deal with! My exerience with the setup was similar to yours. It took me a while to get the arm adjusted perfectly and it seems like it puts a little more stress on the machine than the manual arm does. After reflecting on this further I think that we probably just put more pressure than we realizle when we press the arm. I greased the RL up well before installing the autodrive. You're right though, Dillon will probably sell more berrings, but it's worth the cost considering the ease of loading! The Mr. Bullet feeder is a must, mine runs flawlessly. I had to tweak the dies a little after getting it adjusted correctly...maybe 1/8-1/4 of a turn down on a couple of stations. Yesterday I took a class with Manny and all of the rounds ran flawlessly! I was getting a few high primers so I had to seat them a little lower...problem solved. You are correct...there is a significant "BITE YOU" factor to this machine. It is important to respect this tool keep your fingers out of its way! I set the foot petal on a footstool so I can't accidentally step on it. I came up with a solution for tightening the clutch consistently. I have a Wheeler inch-pound torque wrench laying around. 45-50in/lbs works well A couple of months ago I bought a 50 round chamber checker from EGW. When making match ammo I drop the bullets in by feel while the press is running. I can mostly keep up with the press, but I have to pause to check the primers and the case name. Thanks for your review Doug. Glad to see that your expereince was similar to mine. What a great machine! Landis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Thanks, I was having some issues before, but I think it was die related. I have since switched dies and the ammo looks good, I just get an occasional high primer. Do you tumble your ammo after loading since you use case lube? I'm not Doug, but I use case lube on my manually operated 1050, and following Brian's advice don't tumble it off. Brian's theory, IIRC, was that the lube actually helps rounds slide past each other/past the mag walls during feeding.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmd Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Doug, Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. Good luck with the machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Hey, just trying to give back....this site has been good to me! I faithfully use Dillon lube, One shot didnt seem to do enough, especially with 38 special cases, and I just keep one type here for pistol/rifle. One shot doesn't cut it for rifle cases, in my experience. At some point I may try to make my own lube, but I have been busy. I throw the loaded rounds in the tumbler with corn cob media and tumble them for 10-15 min. Only problem is jhps, and I have some big media for them....LOL. It is just part of the process....some parts are less fun than the others.....I have a crap load of ammo to chamber check right now..... DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dillon Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Doug, We are already seeing broken crankshafts dramatically increase. So again, use of any aftermarket equipment is considered potentially hazardous, and is not recommended. Any modifications performed to your machine, or the addition of any unapproved equipment from other manufacturers will void the warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 Gary, I am not surprised, and have been waiting for your post. I understand completely, and take full responsibility for the operation of my equipment....I can imagine that some wont..... DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Doug, We are already seeing broken crankshafts dramatically increase. So again, use of any aftermarket equipment is considered potentially hazardous, and is not recommended. Any modifications performed to your machine, or the addition of any unapproved equipment from other manufacturers will void the warranty. Gary, I am not surprised, and have been waiting for your post. I understand completely, and take full responsibility for the operation of my equipment....I can imagine that some wont..... DougC Doug doesn't have to worry, he has a 1050 and the one year warranty is more than likely off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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